Housing

Purchases of previously owned homes unexpectedly rose in July to the highest level since February 2007, consistent with further strength in the housing market.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency on Wednesday officially increased the target for loans purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that benefit affordable housing, but the uptick is not satisfying housing advocates.

Mortgage Contracting Services will close the Utah office of its MCS Valuations subsidiary and consolidate its operations into three offices nationwide.

Home sales in July rose 11.3% from a year earlier, as lenders appear to be loosening access to credit, according to Re/Max.

Mortgage lending to low-income families could increase slightly under a plan by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt.

The share of refinancing activity as part of the origination market fell in July, according to the Ellie Mae Origination Insight Report.

Mortgage application volume grew 3.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis compared with the week prior, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Home sales in California continued to rise in July, even as home prices remain elevated, according to a new report.

The California Housing Finance Agency has forged partnerships with two federal agencies to provide lower interest rates to multifamily developers as a way to encourage more affordable housing.

First-time homebuyers between 2010 and 2013 were slightly younger than in the previous four-year period, according to Zillow.

New-home construction climbed in July to the highest level in almost eight years, indicating the industry will pick up in the second half of the year.

J.G. Wentworth Co. has begun a marketing campaign to call attention to its new home-lending business.

The Houston housing market still runs the risk of a pullback, based on a range of economic conditions affecting the city, according to Fitch Ratings.

Confidence among homebuilders climbed in August to the highest level in almost a decade, indicating the residential real estate market is making strides.

Four more Federal Home Loan Banks have won regulatory approval to participate in a program that allows member institutions to sell jumbo mortgage loans through a conduit to Redwood Trust.

Americans living in rentals spent almost a third of their incomes on housing in the second quarter, the highest share in recent history.

Wells Fargo's head of mortgage lending, Mike Heid, will retire in October. The San Francisco company will promote Franklin Codel, head of mortgage production, to succeed Heid as head of Wells Fargo Home Lending.

Consumers' growing confidence about their ability to qualify for a mortgage is generating more foot traffic, sales orders and loan volume for some of the nation's largest homebuilders.

Refinance application volume for the week ended Aug. 7 reached its highest level since the end of May, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Home shoppers in San Francisco needed incomes of $267,780 to become owners of a typical house in the second quarter as prices soared to a record.